[FRIAM] While walking to get tacos...

[Steve Smith]

Jon -

I still hold it (deliberately) as a poem, and appreciate it as such.

Knowing only a little about Ravens and other Corvids from reading
popular science books about them and observing them in the wild and in
the context of movies, television and documentaries, I like the thought
of an Albino in your Unkindness, Conspiracy or Constabulary (only
applied  at the Tower of London?) or even better an un(der)codumented
Chihuahuan hanging out with our more (common to us) Raven.    It may be
entirely my perception, but I've been unable discern any significant
difference in morphology, plumage, behaviour among the Raven's I've
encountered in my own travels including Sweden.   A little Wikipedianing
tells me that Corvus Corax is widely distributed in the Northern
Hemisphere and among subspecies their appearance apparently does not
change much.

I've lived within the range of Chihuahuan Ravens but never recognized
any as such... though I have struggled to distinguish Ravens from Common
Crows at times where perhaps the Chihuahuan was the more commonly seen
Raven, as I do have a faint memory of Raven-shaped/sized "crows" that
were distinct in appearance and behaviour from crows...   I never
noticed any white, though wikipedia suggests it is subtle and may
require some wind-ruffling to expose?

I am more aware of the wide range of appearance and behaviour among
magpies (near cousin to ravens?) across my travels.

I have a pair whose territory includes my house and 4 years ago got to
watch them nest, hatch and fledge 3 young from a large singular
cottonwood behind my house.   They have not nested there since and the
youngsters wandered off within the year... but it was fun while they
were all resident (and in self-discovery).

When I moved here I had a huuuge magpie next in a huuuge russian
olive... the house had been vacant for the entire spring before I bought
mid-summer which may have allowed/encouraged that nesting.   I saw the
nest but the parents were very furtive until I began to hear the babies
and see the regular trips for feeding them.   They "flew the nest" early
I suspect because of us...  all of them (I forget  how many babies, but
more than 2) were gone within a month or so.   It was just a few years
later that West Nile swept up the Rio Grande wiping out (virtually?) all
Magpies... this year was the first time I've seen *any* in my section of
the bosque, though I hear they have been slowly returning (migrating
down from the north along the Bosque from CO?).

- Steve

On 2/4/21 1:39 PM, thompnickson2 at gmail.com wrote:
> What you wrote was so close to a poem, I took it as such, at first, until I
> read the question at the end.  
>
> The short answer is "I don't know!"
>
> Now for the educated guesses: 
>
> 	1. Albinism is a simple matter, genetically; possibly a one gene
> knockout.   So, yes to your question.
> 	2.  Sun glints off bird's feathers.  Perhaps your bird caught the
> sun right?  So, no to your question.
> 	3.  There are ravens that live south of here, in the Bosque, and up
> into the Sangres, called the white-necked or Chuhuahuan Raven.   The
> juveniles have a white patch above their shoulders.  So, perhaps, maybe to
> your question. 
>
> Nick
>
> Nick Thompson
> ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com
> https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> On Behalf Of jon zingale
> Sent: Thursday, February 4, 2021 2:24 PM
> To: friam at redfish.com
> Subject: [FRIAM] While walking to get tacos...
>
> Above my house, an unkindness of ravens flew.
> And distinguished from the many was one
> whose feathers shone white, almost translucent against the sky in the bright
> sunlight.
> Is this a common genetic variant?
>
>
>
> --
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